Coyotes, and concern, in a Northwest Dallas neighborhood (and a few tips on how to chase ‘em away)

Last night I pulled into my lifelong Northwest Dallas neighborhood, between Walnut Hill and Royal lanes off Marsh Lane, and noticed every street sign was decorated with at least one yellow sheet of paper bearing the bold-faced headline “Two Wild Coyotes.” Beneath that it reads, “Openly roaming streets during daytime hours killing and eating … pets.” Turns out, according to several emails I received this morning, neighbors have reported seeing coyotes in alleys in recent weeks; one says Dallas PD has confirmed that her cat was mutilated by a coyote a couple of months back. In recent days several “lost pet” signs have been posted; you can imagine who most folks believe is to blame. And then there’s the recently minted photo you see here, taken by a friend of a neighbor.

There’s a meeting tonight at 7 during which Dallas City Council member Ann Margolin will discuss the coyotes, which, of course, is nothing new to those living near White Rock Lake, say. But a long while after all those unsolved cat killings reported around my neighborhood and elsewhere, this is the first I’ve heard of anyone confirming a coyote sighting, much less more than one.

Joining Margolin tonight will be none other than wildlife rehabilitator Bonnie Bradshaw, who you may recall made headlines last summer after she was tried for rescuing a raccoon cooking to death in a cage at a Richardson apartment complex. (She was, of course, acquitted on all charges.)

Bradshaw heads 911 Wildlife, a “wildlife control company that was prompted by my frustration as a rehabilitator by all these animals being injured and orphaned by wildlife control companies,” she explains. She says she’s been contracted by the city of Dallas to handle “wildlife concerns any citizens have,” which, of course, include folks who don’t dig their new coyote neighbors.

A home owner called Animal Control “about the cat killed by a coyote and wanted something done,” she says. “So I’ll give some basic information about why coyotes are in the city, talk about the research done on urban coyotes and what’s been found out about their main sources of food and what attracts them to neighborhoods and how to use aversion techniques to keep them away in a way that’s more effective than using traps.”

Which brings me to another email I received from a neighbor …

Another neighbor sends this photo taken June 19 near Ingleside and Marsh.

That’s the one that asks, “Are we allowed to shoot [the coyotes] as long as we only use shotguns or small-caliber rifles?” Bradshaw says no, that’s a terrible idea; so too is trapping them. Matter of fact …

“Trapping them has caused the problem to be worse around the country,” she says, giving a sneak peek at tonight’s presentation. “Eradication efforts that have been enforced for the last 200 years worked on wolves, but it had the opposite effect on coyotes. We have more in this country now than we did 200 years ago because they’re density breeders. When they’re being removed from an area, the female coyote’s reproductive rates increase.

“Urban coyotes have lived their entire lives around people. They’re not fazed by noise and traffic. But if we challenge them in their territory. … Most people run or take pictures, and both of those responses teach coyotes it’s safe. When people see a coyote, pick up a rock and throw it or pick up a hose and spray it. Make physical contact. It’ll scare the heck out of it, and the sightings cease. When they feel challenged, they no longer feel safe. And I have two cats. I know how devastated I’d be if my cat were killed, which is why it’s also important for people to keep their cats indoors.” In other words: Close down the buffet.

“They’re all over the city and all over the country,” Bradshaw says of the urban coyote. “It’s a phenomenon in every city throughout the U.S. Are there more now than there used to be? I think it’s just that people have better ways of communicating now, so when there’s a sighting everyone knows about it. But people take actions based on emotion or science, and I’ll present the science.”

Editor Picks

Ad:TopLeftBlog

Ad: Position1

Archives Title

Archives

ArchivesAbout This Blog

About this Blog

Our City Hall reporters and other Dallas Morning News writers and editors provide in-depth features, breaking news and offbeat tidbits through lively coverage of Dallas government.
Readers are encouraged to join the conversation.